BEIJING: Lebih 80,000 penduduk di wilayah Guizhou, barat daya China, terpaksa dipindahkan selepas hujan lebat berterusan menyebabkan banjir besar melanda kawasan berkenaan, menurut laporan media rasmi negara itu.

China ketika ini sedang menghadapi musim panas ekstrem dengan gelombang haba melanda sebahagian besar wilayahnya, manakala ribut petir dan hujan lebat membadai kawasan lain termasuk Guizhou.

Menurut agensi berita rasmi Xinhua, pasukan penyelamat digerakkan ke dua daerah di Guizhou selepas pihak berkuasa menaikkan tahap amaran kawalan banjir ke peringkat tertinggi.

Antara lokasi yang terjejas teruk ialah daerah Rongjiang, di mana sebuah padang bola dilaporkan tenggelam dengan paras air mencecah tiga meter.

Sehingga petang, sekitar 80,900 penduduk telah dipindahkan dari kediaman masing-masing, menurut laporan agensi itu lagi.

Rakaman yang disiarkan penyiar negara CCTV menunjukkan sebuah jambatan runtuh berhampiran bandar Kaili di mana pasukan penyelamat dilihat menggunakan bot untuk membawa penduduk meredah air keruh separas lutut, manakala sekumpulan kanak-kanak menunggu di sebuah tadika untuk dibawa keluar oleh petugas kecemasan.

Turut dipaparkan ialah persiapan sebuah pasukan penyelamat menggunakan dron bagi menghantar bantuan makanan termasuk beras kepada mangsa banjir.

Wilayah bersebelahan, Guangxi, turut dilanda banjir dengan petugas penyelamat kelihatan membantu memindahkan penduduk di beberapa lokasi yang dinaiki air.

Minggu lalu, puluhan ribu penduduk di wilayah Hunan di tengah China turut diarahkan berpindah selepas hujan lebat melanda kawasan berkenaan.

Malah, hampir 70,000 penduduk di selatan negara tersebut telah dipindahkan beberapa hari lebih awal susulan banjir yang dicetuskan oleh Taufan Wutip.

Pihak berkuasa China minggu lalu turut mengeluarkan amaran merah, tahap tertinggi dalam sistem amaran empat peringkat negara itu bagi ancaman banjir besar di kawasan pergunungan melibatkan enam wilayah.

Fenomena cuaca ekstrem ini semakin kerap dan teruk dipercayai berpunca daripada perubahan iklim yang didorong oleh pelepasan gas rumah hijau.

China kini merupakan penyumbang terbesar gas rumah hijau di dunia, namun pada masa yang sama turut menjadi peneraju tenaga boleh baharu dan berikrar untuk mencapai sasaran pelepasan sifar bersih karbon menjelang tahun 2060.

TAMPIN – Sembilan pelajar perempuan cedera selepas terkena khemah yang diterbangkan angin ribut di tapak pasar tani Tampin pada Rabu.

Kejadian sekitar jam 11 pagi itu berlaku ketika pelajar berkenaan sedang membuat persiapan untuk persembahan kawad kaki sempena Karnival Kawad Kaki Generasi Madani Sekolah Menengah Peringkat Daerah Tampin.

“Namun ketika para peserta sedang membuat persiapan untuk persembahan kawad kaki di khemah yang telah disediakan oleh pihak penganjur, telah berlakunya kejadian ribut.

“Sebanyak sembilan khemah telah diterbangkan ribut ke Tanah Perkuburan Kristian berhampiran,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan pada Rabu.

Menurutnya, kejadian itu mengakibatkan sembilan pelajar perempuan berusia antara 13 hingga 17 tahun cedera.

Jelas beliau, seorang daripada mereka telah menerima rawatan susulan di Hospital Kuala Pilah manakala lapan lagi mendapatkan rawatan sebagai pesakit luar di Hospital Tampin dan telah dibenarkan pulang.

“Laporan polis telah dibuat oleh PPD Tampin,” katanya.

BEIJING: A tropical depression may hit southern China as early as Thursday, meteorologists cautioned, bringing rain and gales to a flood-hit region still recovering from the impact of Typhoon Wutip two weeks ago.

The tropical depression could make landfall somewhere between the island province of Hainan and Guangdong on the mainland on Thursday morning, China's National Meteorological Centre said in an online bulletin on Wednesday.

The storm will again test the flood defences of densely populated Guangdong as well as Guangxi and Hunan further inland.

Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated when Wutip tore through the region from June 13 to 15, dumping record rains and damaging roads and cropland. Five people died.

China has battled with summer floods for millennia, but some scientists say climate change is resulting in heavier and more frequent rain. Massive flooding could set off unforeseen "black swan" events with dire consequences such as dam collapses, Chinese officials say.

NEW YORK, June 26 — As tens of thousands of people braced for more extreme heat yesterday, authorities and public health experts in the United States issued heat warnings to help keep people safe. Cities of the US Midwest and East Coast were seeing temperatures in the 90s Fahrenheit (32-38 degrees Celsius) this week, as was much of southern Europe.

What are the health risks from extreme heat?

Heat can affect health in various ways. With heat exhaustion, a person can feel dizzy, shaky, thirsty or develop a headache. It is not usually serious unless the person is unable to cool down within 30 minutes.

When people are unable to cool down, they can develop heatstroke — a medical emergency defined as the body’s core temperature, usually close to 36.8 Celsius, going above 40.6 Celsius.

A person with heatstroke may have symptoms including rapid breathing, confusion, seizures, or nausea. Without medical attention, heatstroke can lead to long-term organ damage and death. High temperatures are especially dangerous when combined with high humidity, which makes it harder for people to cool down by sweating. Both are expected to rise with climate change, as warmer air can hold more moisture.

Who is at risk?

Extreme heat can be harmful to anyone, but some populations are more vulnerable than others.

Experts are most concerned about older people, young babies, and people who are socially isolated. They also worry about outdoor labourers and people struggling economically.

People with pre-existing health conditions, such as lung disease, heart problems or diabetes, should also be extra cautious.

Experts say more deaths occur earlier in the summer when people’s bodies have not had a chance to acclimatise.

Statistics on heat-related deaths are often considered to underestimate the impact of extreme heat because many countries do not record heat as a specific cause of death.

Less obvious risks of extreme heat

Apart from testing a body’s ability to regulate its own temperature, extreme heat can pose a host of secondary risks.

Warmer temperatures encourage the growth of bacteria and algae. So heatwaves can raise the risk of water being contaminated with diseases such as cholera, or of lakes and rivers becoming choked with toxic algae.

Heat can also damage crops or buckle roads and disrupt transport systems.

Wildfires fuelled by dried-out trees or shrubs can lead to dangerous levels of air pollution.

Heat stress, including the sleep disruption caused by heat, can also contribute to poorer mental health.

Medical experts expect that certain diseases will expand their ranges as climate change enables disease-carrying insects to move into new areas.

For example, we could see more of the deadly, tick-borne Powassan virus, while scientists also have mapped the expanding habitat of Aedes mosquitoes, which carry dengue, Zika virus and chikungunya.

In California’s Central Valley, desert-loving fungal spores that cause Valley fever could do well as temperatures climb.

What you can do

Public health advisories across the United States urge people to stay cool, stay hydrated, and avoid over-exertion.

Many cities have set up public cooling centres or are providing free access to air-conditioned public transport.

Employers should ensure workers have adequate breaks and hydration, and that they are not working outdoors when the heat is dangerous. — Reuters